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Left Overs? Make a Yummy Dish!!!

So, this is my first Food post. Im not gonna put you a list of ingredients and procedures. But I do have to tell you how I feel about cooking for a start. Im not dedicated no the kitchen, Im not a chef and definitely don’t intent to become one, But I do enjoy cooking what I feel up to. I’ve been a vegetarian fro more than 4 years straight already, which I gotta say changed my point of view about food.

I know you are thinkng :“BAH! Im not a veggies person,don’t want to read about that either”. But Who said something about me talking about them? Im gonna show you how vegetarian or not you can enjoy food iin different ways you didn’t imagine you could. Starting by how do you choose what you are gonna make, and how much do you actually know about what you are eating. I can asure you, you wont regret reading this parts of my blog.

But, what does the title of this article says? RIGHT! Left Overs! What do you do with them? Wanna find out what I do with them?…

The pic looks good! Doesn’t it? Simple fresh strawberries with chocolate. But what can you do with that food from the prior day or even two? Here some tips yo can use for lunch or even dinner if you want.

1-The first thing is always knowing how to keep food in good state. DON’T put the leftovers just on the same plate where you left them! Put them in a container, preferably green, why? Because the material is made with helps the gases from the food to not get ttrapped in it by the end it doesn’t decompose that fast. And once it’s properly packaged put in the right side of the fridge, if is something that need more coldness on the top or if doesn’t need it from the middle and below.

2- DON’T FORGET ABOUT IT! One of the things we have done (myself included)is to think the food is going to wait us till we want it again. If you think you will forget about that piece of chicken or bowl of salad, then put a lil post it on the fridge. Is not that hard, Is it? Have it in mind to consume it in the next day or two top. Better yet, if you can put labels on the containers with what’s on it and the date you put it there. So that would give you the “Expire” date.

3-DON’T PUT IN ON THE MICROWAVE! I know that’s the easy think to do, but do you actally know what microwave does to your food? Microwave ovens cook food with waves of oscillating electromagnetic energy that are similar to radio waves but move back and forth at a much faster rate. These quicker waves are remarkably selective, primarily affecting molecules. Wanna know more? Read this Hardvard article about food nutrients loss: http://hvrd.me/17cjXVp And this other one, even when a bit more “Drastic” still shows what is really behind it: http://bit.ly/1bRJwiB. With this Im not telling you to not use it, But…There’s a good reason to suggest you not to…

COOK IS BETTER!!! By using the microwave on your left overs you are just changing your food and heating iy up, but if you take a bit more of time, results can be amazing! If o have lets say, some chicken with some kind of sauce, you can put it on a pan or pot on the stove. You heat it up medium and add more spices maybe even some fresh vegetables on it. And because it was already cooked you’ll basically have it ready pretty quick and it will actually have better taste.

4- Don’t know what to do with diifferent ones? I getcha! You don’t have chicken or pizza. You got maybe some white rice and vegetables or meat? Maybe even many containers with items from beans till jam, from rice till steamed vegetables? What about fried chicken or pasta? Do you just throw it into trashcan? Why not make a mixed rice? or Cramble the fried chicken into an Omelete?Don’t have any ideas? Well in that case why dont you try something like this?

And NOP, I didn’t spend hours making it. Just a bit of white rice, some spiced soy meat and fried smashed beans, all from the day prior. SEPARATED. What did I do? Refried some chopped red peppers, onion and cilantro with olive oil,added the soy meat and then the rice. Refried the beans with a bit of spicy sauce, accompained it with half smashed avocado with salt and lemon, and few pieces of fried yucca sticks. Looks good, doen’t it?? Well i was, and I only spent like 15 minutes between chopping and heating it up and serving it.

“TIME” I know in a bussy day the last thing you want to do is spend your free time cooking, sometimes is even easier just to order fast food express. Isn’t it? But what do you get on exchange? Im not only talking about over weight, because in my case to look thin is not my goal, BUT Health is. Why I say this?Well,maybe has someething to do with the fact of me having a nutrition title on my back,or for being vegetarian, but either is the case I want to help you.

TIME is what defines how long you can be or nor in the kitchen, but also TIME is what you taking away from you by choosing the easy way. You’ll see, you don’t need to be a chef or know nutrition to choose good,yummy food for you and your family, just some tips and tricks:

1-YOU DON’T HAVE TIME? MAKE TIME. It doesn’t need to be 2 hours or so, but just few minutes. How long you have to wait on the McDonald’s line? Even if to go? Im sure now you’re thinking about it. Well it could take you similar or even less time to cook something nice. Just by having the right things on hand.

2-WHICH RIGHT THINGS? Easy, do you like salads? Try to always have some lettuce and vegetables, like tomatoes or even fruits like apples. Do you love meat? Try to always have a piece of it. If yo want to eat that for lunch then leave it on the last shelf of the bottom of your fridge,that way when your home it’s ready to be spiced and cooked. Then my favorite things to always have on hand:

A-SPICES: Basics like salt and pepper, and others like marjoram,parsley, and hot chili peppers. Of course it’s gonna depend on yor taste.

B-VEGETABLES:Never stay without them,they’re really practical.

C-OILS and VINAGER: In plural? YES! Try different kinds of them for different kinds of food creates a complete different group of flavors

3- THINK IS BORING? Forget about that. You don’t need to do a “Mix-from-everything-I-Had-On-My-Fridge” kind of meal. BUT just to choose wisely what of those leftovers you’re gonna use first. Then what do yo want to add to make your dish better and finally with what do you want to enjoy it, feel free to use your imagination here. Why don’t you try to put some music while cooking? Why not even try to start making something new and use the leftovers as accompaniment only?

4-AFRAID OF DO SOMETHING AWFUL? Don’t be! Trust yourself, trust the kitchen, just don’t burn the water! 🙂 Use your imagination and go with it. Don’t be afraid of the outcome, salty & sweet? spicy & acid? or spicy & sweet? salty& acid? Then try it! You’ll never know what it would taste like unless you try it.

Some ideas: In posterior days Im gonna update this links, but till then I think this titles an inspire you a bit, won’t they? 😉

Sandwiches

Soups

Stews

Pie

Cake

Lasagne

“Eat, Drink, Enjoy”

Hope you enjoyed this! 😉

Have doubts? Want to know more ideas? Just want to share your opinion? Then let me know!!! Comment or e-mail me!